The stadium opened on June 19, 1983 and was built as an indoor structure with an air-supported roof, the largest of its kind in the world upon its opening.[5] Following the 2010 Winter Olympics, BC Place was closed for 16 months as part of an extensive revitalization, the centrepiece of which was replacing the inflatable roof with a retractable roof supported by cables. Once construction was completed, the stadium's new roof was also the largest of its type.

The stadium was then used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication (Expo '86). Accepting an invitation by the Province of British Columbia, their Royal Highnesses Prince Charles and Princess Diana made themselves available to take part in the opening ceremonies. To great fanfare, they officially proclaimed the World's Fair open on May 2, 1986.

On January 5, 2007, snow accumulated on the air-supported Teflon Fibreglass roof, despite strict zero accumulation of ice guidelines and ice accumulation structural warnings. The accumulation caused a tear in the roof's ETFE-coated fabric close to Gate G on the south side where the roof meets the top of the concrete bowl.[12][13] The tear grew quickly as air escaped through it, whereupon maintenance staff performed an intentional, controlled deflation to protect the integrity of the roof's intact fabric panels.[14] As it was designed to do, the deflated roof rested on its steel support cables 6 metres (20 ft) above the seating and the field. Normally, the roof had a rise of 27 metres (90 ft) above the top of the bowl when inflated.[15] No one was injured during the incident, although rain and melted snow flooded the bowl and subsequently had to be pumped out.

An independent report indicated that an accidental rapid pressurization combined with lightly gusting wind and a location of previously undetected damage caused the tear.[16] The damaged panel was replaced with a temporary one on January 19 and the roof was re-inflated.[17][18] The BC Contractors Association held an exhibition in the stadium over the week of January 23,[19] during which the roof leaked in several places when it rained.[20] The temporary panel was successfully replaced with a permanent one in June 2007, prior to the start of the BC Lions 2007 season.[21]

When it was built, the floor of BC Place was too small to accommodate a full-sized CFL regulation field, as a result BC Place became the first CFL stadium to use a 20-yard end zone instead of the regulation 25 yard end zone then in use.[citation needed] Although controversial at first, the smaller end zone proved highly popular with players and was adopted league-wide in 1986.[citation needed]

The 47th Vanier Cup was the first Canadian university football championship paired with the Grey Cup Festival and played Friday, November 25, 2011 between the McMaster Marauders and Laval Rouge et Or in front of 24,935. Nicknamed "Best Game... Ever",[23] it is widely regarded as one of the most exciting Canadian Football games of all time[24] with McMaster winning 41-38 in double overtime. It was the first championship played in the newly renovated facility.

In 1987, an exhibition match of Australian rules football was played at the stadium and drew a crowd of 32,789 – a record for the largest AFL/VFL crowd outside of Australia.

The 2014 NHL Heritage Classic took place March 2, 2014 in BC Place, with the Ottawa Senators facing off against the home team Vancouver Canucks.[27] It was the first of the NHL's "outdoor" games to be played in what technically is an indoor stadium, albeit one of a larger capacity than a typical NHL arena.

PavCo, which owns and operates BC Place, is governed primarily by the British Columbia Enterprise Corporation Act, which names it an Agent of the government, binds it by the same laws as the government, and gives it the same immunities as the government.

On May 16, 2008, it was announced that over $150 million in major renovations would be carried out on BC Place Stadium. The work was done in two phases. The first phase involved upgrades to seating, washrooms, concessions, and luxury suites, as well as the reinforcement of the existing ring beam at the top of the building[28] and was completed in October 2009, in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Work on the retractable roof began in May 2010, shortly after the completion of the 2010 Winter Paralympics and the final deflation of the air-supported roof. The official budget for the completed Phase 1 upgrades plus the revitalization project was $514 million.[29] The new roof, a cable-supported retractable roof system first used with the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, Germany,[30] is the largest of its kind.[31] The opening measures 100 by 85 metres (109 by 93 yd), the same size as the field below. The fabric roof retracts into and is hidden by a pod in the centre of the opening, above the suspended videoboard.[32]

The updated stadium also features the second largest centre-hung high definition scoreboard in North America, after the one in the DallasCowboys Stadium (since renamed AT&T Stadium).[33] In addition, a new artificial turf developed by Polytan was installed at an estimated cost of $1.2 million. It is designed to achieve FIFA 2-star certification, the highest rating possible. The soccer pitch is 117 by 75 yards (107 by 69 m).[34]

BC Place has been described as one of the most beautiful stadiums in all of North America and the Crown Jewel of the CFL.[35]TSN analyst and former CFL player Chris Schultz praised both the design and engineering of the new stadium.[33] Columnist Brian Hutchinson has praised the renovations for significantly improving the acoustics, and providing a bright and airy feel to the stadium. These were aspects that were missing in its previous air-supported roof incarnation, as well as the Montreal Olympic Stadium and the Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome).[31]

The artificial turf installed between September 2011 and April 2015 drew criticism, notably its lacklustre characteristics for playing professional level soccer.[36][37] A new artificial turf was installed in May 2015, prior to the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015. The total cost of the turf upgrade was $1,327,000, with Canada Soccer and Rugby Canada contributing $500,000 CDN to the project.[38] Liam Middleton, Canada's Rugby Sevens coach, stated that the new surface was "better than some natural grass surfaces they've played on."[39]

New retractable roof is the largest cable supported retractable roof in the world.[40][41]

Revolving doors replaced with clear glass doors, which allows the stadium to be accessed much more easily.[42]

Old brown glass around building replaced with light green glass which lets more light in and makes stadium brighter.[42]

BC Lions locker room completely expanded and refurbished: Old lockers were taken out, sanded down, refinished, and put back in. New cubicles were also put in with individual lighting for players. Locker room also sports a new floor called "sport floor".[42]

New synthetic turf, called Polytan LigaTurf RS+, was installed as the new playing surface. Turf has a 11⁄4 inches (32 mm) thick shock pad underneath the turf and special eco-friendly BionPro infill.[43]

Around the stadium is a new 51 inches (1.3 m) electronic ribbon board, with a circumference of 2,200 feet (670 m).[40]

Added 1,140 new HDTV screens. Screens work through a system called Stadium Vision. Each screen runs on a separate video source, allowing menu boards at concourse concession stands to show game updates to fans as they order from concession stands.[44]